Esmerlyn Valdez seventh homer fuels Pirates fantasy buzz

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Esmerlyn Valdez has become one of fantasy baseball's hottest waiver-wire names, batting cleanup and clubbing his seventh home run on July 9 against Atlanta. The Athletic's Andy Behrens flagged his meteoric rise alongside two-start streaming advice, while NBC Sports and CBS Sports both urge managers to add the 22-year-old while he starts daily.

Valdez's breakout is moving fast from prospect curiosity to must-add headline. Across three recent fantasy outlets, the same story keeps repeating: the Pirates have locked him into the heart of the order, and managers who need power cannot afford to wait.

Key Takeaways

• Valdez hit his seventh homer of 2026 on July 9, taking Braves starter Bryce Elder deep in a 1-for-4 night that also included a walk, per CBS Sports.
• NBC Sports reported he hit cleanup for a fourth straight game on July 4 against Washington, part of a .411 run since his June 11 recall.
• The Athletic's Andy Behrens highlighted Valdez's meteoric rise and power upside in a July 6 column that also covered two-start streamers for the pre-All-Star break schedule.
• Despite a cooler homer pace after four straight long balls to end June, CBS Sports noted Valdez still looks capable against big-league pitching over his last nine games.
• NBC Sports calls him worth a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats while he remains in Pittsburgh's everyday lineup.

Why is Esmerlyn Valdez suddenly a fantasy baseball must-add?

Valdez went from bench option to cleanup fixture in roughly three weeks. NBC Sports said he was hitting cleanup for a fourth consecutive game on July 4 versus the Nationals, a sign Pittsburgh trusts him in high-leverage spots.

Since returning to the majors on June 11, he was hitting .411 (19-for-46) with four homers and 11 RBI across 15 games, according to NBC Sports. That kind of everyday role plus middle-of-the-order placement is exactly what fantasy managers chase on the waiver wire.

The Athletic framed his surge as a meteoric rise in its July 6 fantasy takeaways roundup. Analyst Andy Behrens pointed to Valdez's power potential among the week's biggest hitting storylines, putting him in the same conversation as other rising sluggers fantasy owners need to monitor.

What happened in Valdez's latest game?

Valdez's most recent headline moment came Thursday against Atlanta. CBS Sports reported he went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk, taking Elder deep in the third inning for his seventh homer of the season.

The homer mattered even if the raw power numbers have cooled. CBS Sports noted that Valdez homered in four straight games to end June, then went homerless over much of the next stretch while still contributing elsewhere.

Over his last nine games entering that outing, he was 11-for-37 with one homer, six RBI and six runs scored, per CBS Sports. He had also started 10 straight contests, underscoring that Pittsburgh is not rotating him out.

Should fantasy managers worry about strikeouts or regression?

Every hot rookie carries risk, and Valdez is no exception. NBC Sports described the 22-year-old as a streaky power hitter with strikeout issues in the upper minors, a profile that can swing wildly week to week.

Still, NBC Sports found an encouraging sign in his recent form: he had struck out just a shade over 25 percent of the time during that post-recall stretch. That is not elite contact, but it suggests he can stay playable while Pittsburgh keeps him in the heart of the lineup.

CBS Sports offered a similar read after the seventh homer. Power production had fallen since the four-game homer streak, yet Valdez still looked capable of handling big-league pitching. For fantasy purposes, that means he remains a power-and-RBI bet rather than a five-category star.

How does The Athletic tie Valdez to broader fantasy strategy?

Valdez was not the only name in The Athletic's July 6 column. The piece paired his rise with practical roster advice on two-start streamers heading into the All-Star break, a reminder that winning leagues in July often means juggling hitters and pitchers at once.

Behrens specifically espoused the power potential of rising sluggers such as Valdez and Joshua Baez, signaling that managers should treat this stretch as more than a short-term fluke. If you are scanning for more breakout names in this vein, our Celebrity Breaking News feed tracks the players and moments fantasy owners are talking about right now.

For the full breakdown of streamers and waiver targets, see The Athletic's fantasy baseball takeaways. The bottom line is straightforward: Valdez has playing time, lineup leverage, and enough pop to matter in most leagues before the market catches up.